Your HLTAID012 certificate says three years, but your director is asking for a new CPR certificate after one. So there you are on the couch after a long shift, phone in hand, trying to work out how often CPR needs renewing for educators, and why nobody seems to give a straight answer. Then the centre’s compliance software flags your name anyway, and that gap between what the law says and what the industry expects stops feeling like a technicality.
Here’s the short version. Your approved first aid qualification stays current for three years, but ACECQA (the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority), the Australian Resuscitation Council and Safe Work Australia all point to a CPR refresher at least every 12 months. And your certificate, or your centre’s own policy, can turn that 12 month refresher into a condition you have to meet.
How Often Does CPR Need Renewing for Educators?
Educators in Queensland should renew CPR every 12 months. ACECQA describes an annual CPR refresher as the industry standard, while an approved first aid qualification such as HLTAID012 stays current for three years. Your certificate or centre policy can make the 12-month refresher compulsory.
- CPR (HLTAID009): Refresh every 12 months, as recommended by the Australian Resuscitation Council and Safe Work Australia
- First aid (HLTAID012): Current for three years under Regulation 136
- Asthma and anaphylaxis training: The industry standard is renewal every three years
- Your certificate: If it lists a 12-month CPR condition, that condition applies
“Current” means completed within that period, counted from the date on your Statement of Attainment, not the date you booked.
📋 Good to know: Regulation 136 sets the minimum for the whole service, not just for you. One person can hold all three qualifications.
What Regulation 136 Requires for Educators in Queensland
Regulation 136 is the bit of the Education and Care Services National Regulations that decides who needs which training, and how many people need it on shift. It reads a bit dry. But once you see the three pieces laid out, it’s honestly pretty simple.
The three qualifications every service must have on duty
In a centre-based service, at least one staff member or nominated supervisor has to be on duty at all times holding three things, all current:
- An approved first aid qualification (like HLTAID012)
- Approved anaphylaxis management training
- Approved emergency asthma management training
That person has to be immediately available if an emergency happens. And it doesn’t need to be three different people. One person can hold all three.
Family day care is stricter. Every educator and educator assistant must hold all three, no exceptions. OSHC (outside school hours care) and school-based services have their own version under Regulation 136(2), so the rules still reach you if you work before and after school.
What “current” means since 1 October 2023
For a long time “current” was a bit fuzzy, and every centre seemed to read it differently. That’s changed.
What changed in 2023 and 2024 From 1 October 2023, the Regulations set out actual currency periods. A qualification attained within the previous three years counts as current, and that three-year period applied from 1 April 2024. Western Australia is the exception, where the CPR component must be renewed every year.
So for Queensland educators, the prescribed period is three years. That’s the legal line.
Who is responsible: your centre or you?
On paper, the approved provider carries the regulatory obligation. In real life, it’s usually you keeping your own certificate up to date and forwarding it to your director when it’s done. Think of it as something you and your director share, you keep your dates sorted, they keep the roster covered.
So if the law says three years, why does everyone keep talking about 12 months?
Why CPR Is Refreshed Every 12 Months When First Aid Lasts Three Years
This is where most of the confusion comes from. The law gives you three years, but just about everyone, your director, the compliance software, the girl in the next room, talks about CPR every 12 months. They’re not wrong. They’re just talking about a different thing.
What ACECQA calls the industry standard
ACECQA describes the industry standard like this: first aid, anaphylaxis and asthma training renewed every three years, and a CPR refresher done every year. So the yearly CPR isn’t something your centre made up to be difficult.
Training | Industry standard | Who recommends it |
CPR | Every 12 months | ACECQA, Australian Resuscitation Council, Safe Work Australia |
First aid (HLTAID012) | Every three years | ACECQA |
Anaphylaxis management | Every three years | ACECQA |
Emergency asthma management | Every three years | ACECQA |
There’s one more catch. Some certificates actually state that CPR has to be refreshed every 12 months for the qualification to stay valid. If yours says that, the 12 months isn’t just a recommendation anymore.
What the Australian Resuscitation Council recommends
The Australian Resuscitation Council‘s Guideline 10.1 says people who don’t perform resuscitation regularly need repeated CPR refresher training. Both the ARC and Safe Work Australia’s First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice recommend a CPR refresher at least once a year.
Why this matters more in a toddler room
Most educators can go years without ever doing real CPR. That’s a good thing, obviously. But it puts you right in the group Guideline 10.1 is talking about.
And CPR on an infant or a small child isn’t the same as CPR on an adult, which makes it the skill most worth practising often. A yearly refresher means that if a toddler ever stops breathing at lunch, the steps come to you automatically instead of you having to think.
When the 12-month refresher stops being optional
The annual refresher becomes a must, not a should, when:
- Your certificate states a 12-month CPR condition
- Your centre's or approved provider's policy requires it
- You work in, or move to, Western Australia
Not sure which applies to you? Check your certificate and ask your director, and we’ll show you exactly what to look for further down.
Here’s how a yearly CPR refresher slots in around your three-year HLTAID012.
How Annual CPR Fits Around Your HLTAID012 Renewal
Once you see it on a timeline, the whole “three years versus 12 months” thing stops feeling like two rules fighting each other. They actually sit together pretty neatly.
The CPR in HLTAID012 and HLTAID009
When you do HLTAID012, part of what you’re assessed on is CPR. Those are the same CPR skills you refresh when you do HLTAID009 Provide CPR. So the yearly refresher isn’t learning something new, it’s keeping the CPR part of your HLTAID012 sharp in between.
If you’re wondering how HLTAID012 compares with the general first aid course, our HLTAID011 vs HLTAID012 guide breaks it down. And for the bigger picture on how long CPR lasts across all industries, see our CPR validity guide.
Your three-year cycle at a glance
When | Course | What it renews |
Year 0 | HLTAID012 | First aid and CPR |
Year 1 | HLTAID009 | CPR |
Year 2 | HLTAID009 | CPR |
Year 3 | HLTAID012 | First aid and CPR, and the cycle restarts |
Renewing HLTAID012? See Course Dates. It covers your CPR too.
Here’s the bit a lot of educators miss. In a year you do HLTAID012, you don’t need a separate HLTAID009 as well. The CPR is already in there, so really it’s two short refreshers between each full course, not three.
A CPR refresher is a much smaller commitment than the full course. It’s a pretty easy way to keep the skill you’d least want to be rusty on.
Before you book anything, check what your own certificate says.
🔍 Your certificate is the tiebreaker: If it lists a 12-month CPR condition, that's the date that counts.
How to Check Your Certificate for CPR Conditions
Your certificate already holds most of the answers. It just helps to know where to look, because these things aren’t exactly written for skimming at 9pm.
Three things to look for on your Statement of Attainment
Can’t find your certificate?
It happens to everyone, it’s usually buried in an old email. Here’s the quick fix:
Check the course is on ACECQA’s approved list
Search ACECQA’s approved qualifications list using the course name and code. And just to clear up a common myth, RTOs don’t need a separate ACECQA “approved provider” status. It’s the course that’s approved, not the trainer.
Ask your director one question
“Does our centre require CPR every 12 months?” That one question tells you whether the yearly refresher is a recommendation or a must for you.
Once you know your date, the next step is finding a session that fits your roster.
🗓️ Saturday spots go first: Book early so you get a session that suits you, not just whatever's left.
Booking a CPR Refresher Without Losing a Shift
Knowing your date is one thing. Getting a session that doesn’t mean begging someone to cover your room is the hard part, and it’s usually where the booking gets put off “till next week”.
Book well ahead of your due date
Booking early gives you room to pick a session that suits you, rather than taking whatever’s left. Saturday sessions are the first to go, especially from mid-January to March when new educators and placement students start, and from October to December when everyone’s end of year renewals hit at once.
Weekend and evening sessions
Weekend and evening sessions mean you can train without touching your roster. No asking for a weekday off, no leaving the room short.
What happens on the day
You do the online theory first, from your phone, whenever suits. Then you come in for a hands-on practical with manikins on the floor. Kneeling is part of the CPR assessment, so wear comfy clothes you can move in.
Getting your certificate to your director
Your Statement of Attainment comes as a PDF you can forward straight to your director from your phone.
Whole room due at once?
If half your team is due in the same month, it’s often easier to bring the training to you. Onsite CPR refreshers at your centre mean nobody’s giving up a Saturday to travel to a course.
CPR Renewal for Educators: Getting Your Next Date Sorted
So here’s where it all lands. The law gives your approved first aid qualification three years, but the yearly CPR refresher is what the whole industry works to. Neither one is wrong, they’re just measuring different things.
For most Queensland educators, the honest answer is to renew CPR every 12 months. ACECQA calls it the industry standard, and the Australian Resuscitation Council and Safe Work Australia both point the same way. And if your certificate or your centre’s policy makes it a condition, then it’s not a nice-to-have anymore, it’s part of keeping you on the roster.
The good news is it doesn’t stack up the way it first looks. You do HLTAID012 every three years, and a short HLTAID009 CPR refresher in the two years between. In the year you do HLTAID012, the CPR is already covered, so there’s no doubling up.
Before you book anything, grab your Statement of Attainment and look at three things. The completion date, the unit codes, and any line about a CPR refresher or expiry date. If you can’t find it, your USI transcript has it sitting there waiting.
Then ask your director one simple question. Does our centre need CPR every 12 months? That one answer tells you whether you’re working to a recommendation or a rule.
Once you’ve got your date, aim to book well ahead. Saturday spots go quickest from mid-January to March and again from October to December, and we’re right in the middle of that second rush now. Weekend and evening sessions mean you can get it done without asking anyone to cover your room.
And if half your team’s dates all land in the same month, it’s usually easier to bring the training to the centre than to send everyone out on separate Saturdays. One session, everyone’s certificate sorted, and your director’s compliance list goes green in one go.
Mostly though, this is about more than a date on a PDF. Practising CPR on infant and child manikins every year is what makes the steps feel automatic if you ever really need them. That’s the bit that lets you walk into the toddler room feeling calm and ready, not just certified.
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